Table of Contents
The Shadow Side of Social Gift-Giving
1. Gifting as Dilemma:
Gifts Do Not Speak for Themselves . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. The Communication Culture of Social Gifts . . . . . 4
A. Using a Receiver-Centered Model of
Relational Gift Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
B. The Cultural Theater Where Gift-Giving Is
Performed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
C. Gift-Brains: The Biological Foundation
Behind the Gifting Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3. Gift-Giving: It May Not Be the Thought
that Counts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4. Gift-Receiving:
“It’s just what I wanted!” [Not.] . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..12
A. “You shouldn’t have, really.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
B. Now What? The Burden of Gift Disposition . 13
5. Unwrapping the Moral Dilemmas of Gifting . . . 14
A. Is There Ever a Perfect Gift? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
B. Is It Better to Give or Receive? . . . . . . . . . . . 14
C. Is Gift Competition a Winnable Sport? . . . . . 15
6. New Lenses for Looking at an Old Event:
Rewrapping Gift Scholarship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Appendix: The Gift of Story
The Gifts of Wali Dad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Editor’s Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Table 1: Cross-Disciplinary Research:
Giver’s Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Table 2: Cross-Disciplinary Research:
Receiver’s Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Recommended Citation
Sunwolf
(2006)
"The Shadow Side of Social Gift-Giving: Miscommunication and Failed Gifts,"
Communication Research Trends: Vol. 25:
No.
3, Article 1.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/crt/vol25/iss3/1